Notes & Coffee: July 2 - July 8

Published on July 8, 2018
By Maya Ward-Fineman, Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Notes & Coffee is here to keep you informed of all the trending student affairs and higher ed news stories most critical to our field as they develop. In the age of information overload, we’re here to bring you vetted examinations of the stories that matter to our field. We invite you to start your week with Notes & Coffee.

Trump administration rescinds guidance on affirmative action – “The Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded guidance issued by the Obama administration on how colleges can legally consider race and ethnicity in admissions decisions. The move is the latest sign that the Trump administration is skeptical of the way some colleges consider race in admissions. But the immediate impact may be minimal.”

Into the hands of athletes – kind of – “The National Collegiate Athletic Association has approved a new transfer rule, one that appears to give athletes more control over their fates at a time when the NCAA is facing questions about its commitment to athletes' rights. But the policy was written such that in some circumstances, players could risk losing their scholarships at the whim of an institution.”

Looking the other way, again? – “Republican U.S. Representative Jim Jordan has been drawn into Ohio State University’s investigation of a former team doctor who allegedly molested college athletes decades ago, with some ex-wrestlers accusing the congressman, a leader of archconservatives, of failing to stop the ongoing abuse.”

Senators to DeVos on TEACH Grant debacle – “The U.S. Department of Education is in the midst of a top-to-bottom review of a troubled federal grant program for public school teachers. The effort follows reporting by NPR that found many teachers had their grants unfairly converted to loans, leaving some with more than $20,000 in debt. In recent weeks, 19 U.S. senators signed a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, citing NPR's reporting and saying ‘it is urgent that these mistakes are fixed.’ Now, new documents obtained by NPR reveal that a previously unreported plan to fix the program was problematic from the start and did nothing for the vast majority of people involved.”

College Transparency Act builds momentum – “Senator John Cornyn last week quietly signed on to a bill that would overturn the ban on a federal postsecondary student-level data system. Advocates for the College Transparency Act say the Texas Republican’s support doesn’t just mean one more co-sponsor for the legislation. The decision by Cornyn, the second-ranking GOP senator, also suggests the kind of bipartisan support that could make stronger federal data inevitable.”

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